Linguistic cognates Three Indo-European traditions (Greek, Indic and Baltic) attest the
mytheme of equestrian twins, all associated with the dawn or the sun's daughter. Although their names do not form a complete group of
cognates, they nonetheless share a similar
epithet leading to a possible ancestral name or epithet: the 'sons (or descendants) of
Dyēus', the sky-god. • (?)
PIE:
*diwós suHnū́ ('sons of Dyēus'), or
*diwós népoth1e ('descendants of Dyēus'), •
Vedic: the
Divó nápātā (the
Aśvins), the "sons of
Dyaús", the sky-god, always referred to in dual in the
Rigveda, without individual names, •
Lithuanian: the
Dievo sūneliai (the
Ašvieniai), the "sons of
Dievas", pulling the carriage of
Saulė (the Sun) through the sky, •
Latvian: the
Dieva dēli, the "sons of Dievs", the sky-god, •
Greek: the
Diós-kouroi (
Castor and Pollux), the "boys of
Zeus", the sky-god. •
Italic: both
Paelignian Ioviois Pvclois and
Marsian Ioveis Pvcles are interpreted as a
calque of the Greek theonym
Diós-kouroi.
Possible reflexes Since they cannot be linked together to a common linguistic origin, other reflexes found in the Indo-European myths are less secure, although their motifs can be compared to that of the Divine Twins.
Celtic The
Gaulish ''
and Dinomogetimarus
are said to be protective deities and "the Gallic equivalents" of the Greek Dioskouroi. They seem to be represented in monuments and reliefs in France flanked by horses, which would make them comparable to Gaulish Martes
and the Germanic Alcis''. Scholars suggest that the numerous
Gallo-Roman dedicatory epigraphs to Castor and Pollux, more than any other region of the Roman Empire, attest a cult of the Dioskoroi. Greek historian
Timaeus mentions that Atlantic Celts venerated the "Dioskouroi" above all other gods and that they [Dioskouroi] had visited them from across the Ocean. Historian
Diodorus Siculus, in the fourth book of
Bibliotheca historica, writes that the Celts who dwelt along the ocean worshipped the Dioscuroi "more than the other gods". The conjecture that it refers to the
Gallic gods Divanno and Dinomogetimarus has no firm support. In one of the Irish myths involving
Macha (the
Dindsenchas of Ard Macha), she is forced to race against the horses of King of
Ulster while in late pregnancy. As a talented rider, she wins the race but starts giving birth to Fír and Fial immediately after crossing the finish line. The archetype is also partly matched by figures such as the Gallic sun god
Belenus, whose epithet
Atepomarus meant "having good horses";
Grannus, who is associated with the healing goddess
Sirona (her name means "star");
Maponos ("Son of God"), considered in Irish mythology as the son of
Dagda, associated with healing, The
Welsh Brân and
Manawydan may also be reflexes of the Divine Twins. Comparative mythologist
Alexander Haggerty Krappe suggested that two heroes, Feradach and Foltlebar, brothers and sons of the king of Innia, are expressions of the mytheme. These heroes help the expedition of the
Fianna into
Tir fa Thuinn (a realm on the other side of the sea), in a
Orphean mission to rescue some of their members, in the tale
The pursuit of the Gilla Decair and his horse. Both are expert navigators: one can build a ship and the other can follow the wild birds. Other possible candidates are members of
Lugh's retinue,
Atepomarus and
Momorus (
fr). Atepomarus is presumed to mean "Great Horseman" or "having great horses", based on the possible presence of Celtic stem
-epo- 'horse' in his name. Both appear as a pair of Celtic kings and founders of
Lugdunum. They escape from Sereroneus and arrive at a hill. Momorus, who had skills in
augury, sees a murder of crows and names the hill
Lougodunum, after the crows. This myth is reported in the works of Klitophon of Rhodes and in
Pseudo-Plutarch's
De fluviis. Another founding pair of twins in Germanic tradition is brothers
Dan and
Angul (Angel), described in the
Gesta Danorum by scholar
Saxo Grammaticus. The mother of
Romulus and Remus, Rhea Silvia, placed them in a basket before her death, which she put in the river to protect them from murder, before they were found by the she-wolf who raised them. The
Palici, a pair of
Sicilian twin deities fathered by Zeus in one account, may also be a reflex of the original mytheme. Greek rhetorician and grammar
Athenaeus of Naucratis, in his work
Deipnosophistae, Book II, cited that poet
Ibycus, in his
Melodies, described twins
Eurytus and Cteatus as "λευκίππους κόρους" ("white-horsed youths") and said they were born from a silver egg, a story that recalls the myth of Greek divine twins
Castor and Pollux and their mother
Leda. This pair of twins was said to have been fathered by sea god
Poseidon and a human mother, Molione.
Baltic There is possibility that
Ūsiņš (alternately,
Ūsinis), a Baltic god mentioned in the
dainas, is a reflex of the mytheme in
Latvian tradition. He is associated with horses, the light and sun, and possibly one of the sons of Dievs. Historical linguist
Václav Blažek argues he is "a functional and etymological counterpart" of a minor Vedic character
Auśijá- (a servant of the Vedic twins and related to bees) and the
Aśvins themselves. It has also been argued that
Auseklis is the other reflex of the mytheme in Latvian. Auseklis is referred to as male in the context of the
dainas (folksong), and is seen as the groom of Saules meita ("daughter of the sun"), who came all the way to Germany to court her. In addition, according to scholar Elza Kokare, Auseklis belongs to a group of heavenly deities that take part in a mythological drama about a "celestial wedding". Auseklis is seen as a groom of
Saules meita, a daughter of Saule, the female Baltic sun. Sometimes, he is deprived of his bride (
Ausekļa līgaviņa and variations) because of Meness's quarreling. In other accounts, he is a guest or member of the bridal cortege at the wedding of Saules meita with another character. He is also said to own a horse, bought by him or for him. According to
Marija Gimbutas's analysis, Auseklis is a "dievaitis" ('little god') that appears with a horse the Sun gave him, and falls in love with the daughter of the (female) Sun ("Saules dukterims").
Slavic The Polish deities
Lel and Polel, first mentioned by
Maciej Miechowita in 1519, are presented as the equivalents of Castor and Pollux, the sons of the goddess
Łada (counterpart of the Greek Leda) and an unknown male god. An idol was found in 1969 on the
Fischerinsel island, where the cult centres of the Slavic tribe of
Veleti was located, depicting two male figures joined with their heads. Scholars believe it may represent Lel and Polel.
Lelek means "strong youth" in Russian dialect. The brightest stars of the Gemini constellation, α Gem and β Gem, are thought to have been originally named
Lele and
Polele in Belarusian tradition, after the twin characters. According to Polish professor of medieval history,
Jacek Banaszkiewicz, the two
Polabian gods,
Porevit and
Porenut, manifest dioscuric characteristics. According to him, the first part of their names derives from a
Proto-Slavic root
-por meaning "strength," with first being "Lord of strength" – the stronger one, and the other "Lord in need of support (strength)" – the weaker one. They both have five faces each and appear alongside
Rugiaevit, the chief god. During childbirth, the mother of the Polish hero twins
Waligóra ("Mountain Beater") and
Wyrwidąb ("Oak Tearer") died in the forest, where wild animals took care of them. Waligóra was raised of by a she-wolf and Wyrwidąb by a she-bear, who fed them with their own milk. Together, they defeated the dragon who tormented the kingdom, for which the grateful king gave each of them half of the kingdom and one of his two daughters as a wife. The sons of
Krak:
Krak II and
Lech II also appear in Polish legends as the killers of the
Wawel dragon.
Indo-Iranian Another possible reflex may be found in
Nakula and
Sahadeva. Mothered by Princess Madri, who summoned the Aśvins themselves in a prayer to beget her sons (thus them being called
Ashvineya (आश्विनेय)), the twins are two of the five
Pandava brothers, married to the same woman,
Draupadi. In the
Mahabharata epic, Nakula is described in terms of his exceptional beauty, warriorship and martial prowess, while Sahadeva is depicted as patient, wise, intelligent and a "learned man". Nakula takes great interest in Virata's horses, and his brother Sahadeva become Virata's cowherd. Scholarship also points out that the Vedic Ashvins had an Avestic counterpart called
Aspinas.
Armenian The
Armenian heroes Sanasar and Baldasar appear as twins in the epic tradition, born of princess
Tsovinar (as depicted in
Daredevils of Sassoun); Sanasar finds a "fiery horse", is more warlike than his brother, and becomes the progenitor of a dynasty of heroes. In an alternate account, their mother is named princess Saṙan, who drinks water from a horse's footprint and gives birth to both heroes. Scholar Armen Petrosyan also sees possible reflexes of the divine twins in other pairs of heroic brothers in Armenian epic tradition, e.g., Ar(a)maneak and Ar(a)mayis; Eruand (Yervant) and Eruaz (Yervaz). In the same vein, Sargis Haroutyunian argues that the Armenian heroes, as well as twins Izzadin (or Izaddin) and Zyaddin (mentioned in the Kurdish
Sharafnama), underlie the myth of divine twins: pairs of brother-founders of divine origin.
Albanian The pair of heroic brothers and main characters of the
Albanian legendary epic cycle
Kângë Kreshnikësh –
Muji and Halili – are considered to bear common traits of the Indo-European divine twins. == Legacy ==